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Hate to break this to anyone , but this goes on with carpenters , painters , electricians , doctors , lawyers , and even us less than professional fixers of things . Just how it is , human nature being what it is . I've actually been treated rudely by a dealer , called from 5 hours away , had the part number , was told the part didn't exist , I must be wrong . It took 5 minutes of patience on my part to convince the *experienced* guy on the other end that in fact the part did exist , he finally grudgingly admitted it did and they had it in stock . So this can be a two way street . Dusty
So I'm arse deep in a recalcitrant Stelvio that has been 'Shaved Aped' and I'm trying to un-break it when the sound of a kitten farting happens out the front of the shop. Behold, a knob on a BMW! I think he's there to see Daniel about his car or something and return to cursing the Stelvio. But no! Bec comes out with said knob and gives me 'The look' and says "Bloke wants to talk to you." Now this is a not so subtle hint that the bloke is clearly an idiot but I Sigh, turn round, smile and ask what I can help with.Turns out he's just bought an 850 GT, (An Eldorado by any other name.) and my heart sinks. Yes, it needs work, no it still has chrome bores but it doesn't smoke so he's not going to change them but it's gearbox is not working. Can I tell him how to go apart stripping it, shimming it and lend him any special tools he'll need to get it apart? (Note no suggestion of implied payment!).Well, no I can't. If he wants to bring it in we can do the job together and I'll talk him through it so next time he'll know what's involved. Oh well that wouldn't do. All he wanted was some advice and to know what parts to order! I wasn't very helpful. He'd just muddle through it on his own.I pointed out he'd just interrupted my work and taken up half an hour of my life that I'd never get back again and cordially invited him to vacate my workshop and stop wasting my time. He said I was rude.I told him he didn't know what rude was.He got back on the farting kitten and departed after telling Bec he was going to 'Ruin my reputation'.Bec laughed so hard a bit of wee nearly escaped.
He got back on the farting kitten and departed after telling Bec he was going to 'Ruin my reputation'.
Wait, what? I've been trying to ruin your reputation by telling people you're a good bloke! Now this pillock is going to undo all my good work!
Sorry guys I don't normally speak out in such a manner but I have to say this. I see threads on here all the time about "This poor dealer, That poor dealer, they all close. Why can't we keep a dealer around"? I'm gonna go out on a limb here and try to explain a little bit. If you don't support your dealer, he won't be there. If you buy you parts in the cheapest place possible, and then can't figure out how to fix your bike, why is it the Guzzi dealer's responsibility to explain it to you? (Because the seller didn't post any contact information)If you are looking at something on Ebay, why is it the Guzzi dealers responsibility to tell you if it will fit your bike? (Because the seller says, check with your sealer to verify fitment)If you are buying something at Autozone, why is it the Guzzi dealer's responsibility to supply you the cross reference information? (Because you can get that filter for $2 cheaper)If you want to sell your parts, why is it the Guzzi dealer's responsibility to tell you what they are worth, (Because you don't want to let it go too cheap)If you use the internet and the parts supplier will not answer their phone and give you assistance, why can't you take the responsibility to figure it out. You know, like we did before the internet.......Doing this robs time from the Guzzi dealer and does not allow him to get his paying customers taken care of.Or from the customer side, the guy that supports his dealer....If you were standing in line at the parts counter trying to get your parts, how mad would you be if people kept calling and tying up that parts guy's time asking questions about parts they bought on line while you are there with cash? No, you would get irritated because you want to get your parts and get home to fix your bike. If you have your bike in for a scheduled service, and people keep calling "Needing tech help" and interrupting the service tech, do you want your bike being focused on? Of course you want to be the main focus of the dealer when you are in the store. Folks, here is the real tragedy of this modern world. Motorcycle shops that can survive on small brands need the support of the customer as much as the customer needs the shop. But we as modern consumers have been trained to "Google it", or look it up on Amazon. I assure you, both parties will thrive if you stay with in the Guzzi world. Next time you buy something online, before you ever put anything into that cart, make sure they have contact information and customer service to back up what they are selling you. Yes there is a bit of hypocrisy to this since we operate a large website, but our number and name is on every page and we have product knowledge to go with it. This week alone I have spent more than 12 hours on the phone helping people with problems with parts that they bought elsewhere. This is time taken away from paying, loyal customer that need and deserve being taken care of. And I'm sure I'm not the only one that does this. If you buy your parts from Harper's we will take all the time you need to get things sorted out for you if you are having an issue. But if you get them from a webstore with no contact information, consider yourself uninformed. And the next time a Guzzi dealer closes his doors, maybe give this thread a thought or two. Rant over, gotta get back to shipping, Have a great 4th of July